Vaclav Cerny's true Rangers value laid bare as loan star's impact spares Philippe Clement from mid-table obscurity
Rangers fans haven't had much to celebrate recently - but it could've been a whole lot worse without loan star Vaclav Cerny.
The Czech winger, signed on a season long deal from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg over the summer, has been one of all too few transfer window successes for the Light Blues - and is one of the only Rangers attackers to earn pass marks for his showings across the whole campaign so far. His eight Premiership goals have helped to paper over plenty of cracks for Philippe Clement's toiling side - because without them the Gers would be 10 points worse off, level with fifth place Motherwell and three points adrift of an Aberdeen team who have won just once in their last 11 matches.
Cerny, who cost Wolfsburg £8million when he joined from Dutch side FC Twente in 2023, started as he meant to go on in Glasgow - with his first goal for the club being the winner against Motherwell back in August, as Gers squeaked beyond the Steelmen 2-1. He followed that up by ending an eight game drought with a match-winning brace against struggling St Johnstone at Ibrox and then another winning goal - this time in a 2-1 home success against St Mirren.
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The Slovak was on target at Ibrox again at the end of November, salvaging a point with a strike against Dundee, before netting the winner against city rivals Dundee a month later - and continuing his one man mission against the City of Discovery side with the leveller in the 1-1 draw at Dens Park on January 9. Totalled up, his strikes alone have earned the Gers 10 of their 41 points this season. His other three goals came in routs against FCSB, Nice and Kilmarnock - but without them Rangers would still have won comfortably.
Cerny's eight goals is the most of any wide player at the club - with Ross McCausland and Rabbi Matondo both netting just twice, albeit with very limited game time. Skipper James Tavernier has also only found the net three times this campaign after scoring 24 last season - while Cyriel Dessers' 12 goals so far still make him the Ibrox club's leading marksman, albeit with that tally likely to be overtaken by the in-form Hamza Igamane. But without the Moroccan's seven league strikes the Gers would be just two points worse off.
Vaclav Cerny's goals that have earned Rangers 10 points
Winning goal v Motherwell - August 10 (2 pts)
Both goals in 2-0 win v St Johnstone - October 6 (2 pts)
Winning goal v St Mirren - October 27 (2 pts)
Equaliser v Dundee United - November 23 (1 pt)
Winning goal v Dundee - December 21 (2pts)
Equaliser v Dundee - January 9 (1pt)
